

Colombia has five native species of the genus Anacardium, but this one is naturalized in Colombia with a habitat below 3,000 feet. It is not widely cultivated commercially, even though northern Colombia has the perfect climate for commercial cultivation. Instead much of such land is used for cattle. In the supermarkets cashews are relatively expense. It is called marañón in Colombia and sold on the streets in bottled jars where a different roasting process makes the cashew darker and crunchier. The highly perishable fruit below the cashew seed is edible and normally used for juice; however it is only sold on a limited basis in street markets. The juice is astringent. Inside the shell is is a caustic liquid that will burn you, so to get at the nut which can also be eaten fresh you need to be very careful to avoid the liquid. Photographed in Barranquilla.











